Surprise
by Ushiromae
Summary: Natsuki's bike is stolen on her birthday and she goes on a hunt to get it back. Shiznat
1. Chapter 1

A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATSUKI!! There are 10 minutes left of your special day, so hopefully this comes up before 12... Anyway, this is a joint fiction with InuzukaNotori. She wrote 60 percent at least, because I kept hitting writers block.

Notori: Return of the beaver! MUAHAHAHA! And we mean an actual beaver, as in, Canada's national animal... Am I digging myself deeper here? XD Just enjoy the fic!

**Natsuki's Birthday Oneshot**

"Go away..." Natsuki groaned to the sunlight shining on her face, "Just leave me be..."

The girl sighed and stirred in her bed, trying to get further under the covers to block the brightness from hitting her eyes. All she wanted to do today was sleep; sleep for so long that it would eventually turn into the next day, and so on and so forth until the day that Shizuru made one of her monthly visits would come. For the past year and a bit, the latter was off at a university almost ten hours away; and while Natsuki insisted that she could commute back and forth to Fuuka, once Shizuru pointed out she would have to skip all of her Friday classes the idea was disbanded. Still, that did not stop the young girl from eagerly and rather impatiently waiting for the time when her girlfriend would visit.

However, today was especially hard. Even though it was the weekend, not to mention her birthday weekend, apparently some urgent matter required Shizuru's expert presence and would delay her temporary return. Natsuki sighed and groaned again, further buring herself in the linen.

_She even refused to let me come and visit! Saying I should have a fun time with Mai and them... I can't even get out of bed!_

Natsuki continued to lie there, dead set on her plan to stay put until she was unbearably hungry, only to return and try sleeping again. Although, while she was moping about, the girl heard a curious sound from outside.

_A bike...? _She rolled onto her front and smothered her ears with the pillow, _Wait... It's driving away... and I didn't hear it pull up... and the only bike that's down there is mi-_

"OH MY GOD!"

That did it. In a flash Natsuki was out of bed and out of her dorm, rushing towards the, now, empty parking lot; which previously consisted of her lone motorbike. The blunette almost fell to her knees in tears as she saw no more than a cloud of dust in on the horizon as the speeding figure drove away on the stolen vehicle.

"...Not very well though," the girl noted, using her hand as a visor over her eyes before balling it into a fist, "RAAAHH!! This is the worst birthday ever!"

After storming back to her room, kicking various cans along the way, Natsuki headed straight for the telephone so she could call the authorities and explain what happened.

_Really... how often is it that someone comes out of their birthday with LESS than they had coming into it?!_

Her mental rant was cut short upon seeing something stuck to the top of her phone. The girl raised an eyebrow and pulled of the small sticky note, reading it aloud to herself.

"Dear Natsuki," well, actually that was in one set of hand writing with the word "moron" crossed out, followed by her name and the rest of the message in another, neater, form, "If you want your beloved Ducati back, you must follow the clues set out for you."

_What!? Damn it! I told Mai no scavenger hunts!_

"The first clue is in your freezer, and don't worry, this will be worth your while."

As much as she was doubting that last part, Natsuki reluctantly went into the kitchen to open her freezer door. Surely enough, inside was a folded piece of paper which turned out to be a map of the school grounds. The blunette scanned it briefly before finding a large red X in the middle of what appeared to be the forest. She was about to crumple it up and go back to bed when she remembered her bike was being held hostage... and by someone who couldn't even drive it properly!

With exasperated frustration, Natsuki quickly pulled on better outerwear to begin her search. She held the map out in front of her as she walked, following the directions towards the marked spot. Sure enough, when she got to the wooded area, she found a shovel leaning up against a tree and a small hill of recently replaced earth. Folding the map into her back pocket, Natsuki then started the next part of her quest.

For the next fifteen minutes she was digging, deeper and deeper into the ground, still without finding anything. The girl grit her teeth as her eye twitched at the thought.

_This is probably some trick from Nao to get me to dig my own grave... literally..._ She looked around to see she was about waist deep with more to go. Natsuki sat back on the ledge, about to give up again when visions of a nice ride through the mountains crossed her mind.

"No! I can't give up! Not yet!" she yelled with renewed strength as she powered through the ground almost instantly.

_Seriously! How deep did she bury this! Whatever it is!_

Even with her shoulders aching, Natsuki continued her work until finally, at long last, coming across a small box. She reached down and picked it up, dusting the dirt off and opening it to find a key. Attached to it were two keychains. One, a decorative silver wolf, and the other held a piece of paper. It was another note, with instructions on what to do next.

"_What to do next"? I can barely stand now, thanks a lot!_

"Here's a small birthday gift, just something I found and decided to give it to you now. You can find your next gift and clue at locker number 0815 at the Umidanuki Gym."

_... You're joking right? That's all the way across town! AND I DON'T HAVE MY BIKE!_

But of course, to get back said bike, she would have to continue on with this game. Natsuki took some loose change from her pocket and counted. She had just enough for the bus thankfully, though the thought of spending money on her birthday was annoying, she was told it'd be worth it. She climbed out of her hole in the ground and dusted her clothes, trying to get as much off as possible before setting out in public. She walked at a relatively fast pace towards the gates and then to the nearby bus stop where she waited, tapping her foot off-beat to pass the time.

At least she was doing something and getting out. Even if it was a series of trivial and seemingly meaningless tasks to get back what was wrongly stolen from her, it at least got her blood flowing as opposed to lying in bed. Natsuki sighed, she wished at least to have Shizuru with her while doing all of this... or better yet she probably would have already hunted down the thief and the two would be off on a romantic drive right now.

_The note did say it'd be worth my while... but whoever it is will have to pay for this!_ She told herself as she got onto the bus, paying her fare and sitting down at the back next to a window.

When the bus pulled up to its fifth stop, Natsuki stood up to get off. She was now in the downtown area of Fuuka, the gym a short walk away from where she stood. She headed in its direction, walking at the same fast pace as before.

_Umidunaki Gym, Umidunaki Gym... Ah! Finally, _she grumbled to herself as she pushed her way through the revolving doors. It had been months since the last time she had been there to work out, but Natsuki remembered where to find the lockers. She walked right past the front desk and through the doorway that had a sign above it that read, _Women's Changeroom_.

Natsuki glanced at the first row of light yellow coloured lockers and focused in on the numbers. _0601... The number on the key is 0815, so... _She made her way to the third row and looked at the first locker. _0801, good, this should be the right row. _The locker she was looking for was on the far end at the other side of the room. She hurriedly stabbed the key into the lock and jerked it to the right. She yanked the metal door open. At first Natsuki thought she had gone blind, for everything had gone dark and she could no longer see the soft yellow of the lockers.

_What the...? _

The confused bluenette reached up to her face when she recognized something had fallen on her head and was what was obscuring her vision. Two pairs of lacy panties (one blue, the other black) were now clutched in her right hand with a pile of other items piled at her feet. Natsuki looked at the lingerie with confusion at first, but then a look of glee came over her face. She dropped to the floor to look through it. _Two bras to match the panties, a red teddy, silver panties... I'm in Heaven! _This had definitely been worth the trip across town.

Quiet giggles came from a few feet away, snapping her out of her dreamlike state. A couple of girls were staring at her and trying to stifle their laughter.

A furious blush took over Natsuki's cheeks, quickly spreading throughout the rest of her face and down her neck. "What are you looking at?!" she shouted at them, throwing in a glare as she tried to will the redness on her cheeks away. The girls looked at each other once before scampering off around the corner.

Who would do this to her?! She may have gotten lingerie out of the deal, but the embarassment was too much! The image of her orange haired friend popped into her mind. Mai knew she liked to collect lingerie... Oh she was going to get it when Natsuki found out where she was!

She stood up and collected all of the undergarments into her arms. Inside the locker, thankfully, there was a small bag to put the embarassing items in. The lingerie was quickly, but carefully, stored away before Natsuki noticed a small piece of paper taped to the inside of the locker door.

_"Natsuki, I hope you liked your second gift." -- Maybe I did, but I could have done without the blushing thanks! -- "You still aren't done, so don't give up!"_

Natsuki growled. She still wasn't done this stupid goosechase? Her birthday was supposed to be about her having a fun and relaxing day, not hunting all over the place for her gifts while her bike was being held hostage! Her poor Ducati. It was the only bike that had survived its first year of life and she had grown attached to the thing.

Natsuki sat down tiredly on the bench in front of the lockers, clutching the bag close to her and wondering what to do next. Again she read over the note, then flipped it over to see if anything was written on the back. To her surprise, the only clue that seemed to be left for her was the fact that this day would not be over yet.

"Well... now what," she huffed, "Maybe I should just go home..."

Then, out of nowhere, and for no reason at all, a small crumpled paper hit her in the head.

"You're no fun! Look in the bag doofus!" again, in two sets of handwriting. Natsuki looked in the direction it came from but of course, there was not even the smallest trace of someone there. The girl sighed and did as the note suggested, searching through her amazing additions to her collection. Still, she was stumped, there wasn't a note she had lost in with the bunch either.

She really was about to give up when an oddly pathetic thought struck her: the thought of losing to underwear... despite how incredible they were. With her pride full-blown, Natsuki pulled out each article and inspected it carefully, trying to find some sort of clue on them. Finally it hit her: they were all from the same store... the one Shizuru used to work at.

_... Before she moved... and went to university... and we couldn't be with each other all the time... _And her pride dropped, Natsuki sulked back down into herself, hugging the bag tightly and whimpering. Of course that was followed by yet another crumpled ball of paper hitting her in the head.

"Get a move on!" it read.

Natsuki rolled her eyes and threw it into the bag, simply for the lack of a nearby waste bin. She got up and shook her head clear. While the "voice from above," as she unconsciously named the paper thrower, told her to keep going, she was getting tired of all this walking. She made a promise with herself then that she would play along until she got to the shop, but from there she would stop this game and head home. With a reassuring nod to herself, the blunette lifted the bag over her shoulder and left the Umidanuki Gym.

It took her twenty minutes to get to the lingerie store that she and Shizuru so frequently had visited before the older girl graduated. She pushed the depressing thought away and walked inside the store.

"Ah, Kuga-san. Welcome back, it has... been awhile," the owner of the store greeted. The woman shifted her gaze behind Natsuki, seeming to check to see if there was anyone else.

Natsuki glanced behind herself to see if maybe frowned. "Yeah. But hey, has a redhead stopped by here recently?" _I swear to god Nao if I find out that it was you..._

The store owner raised an eyebrow. "A redhead?"

"Yeah. A stupid red-headed deliquent junior from my school." _A soon to be dead junior..._

"Not that I can remember, no," replied the woman.

Natsuki sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Then perhaps a girl with orange-hair, large uhm, chest." She sighed again as the owner shook her head. "Thanks, anyway." Natsuki growled. Damn. She didn't have any other idea of who it could be so decided that she would keep the promise that she made to her self. _Guess I'll just go home then. What an annoying morning. I'll just call around and see who the hell decided to take my bike. _The biker turned to leave.

"Fujino-san was here though." Natsuki froze. _Shizuru?_ "She asked me that, if I saw you, I would let you know that she was in town."

"Shizuru is here? When did she stop by? Where did she go?" Natsuki asked frantically. She had forgotten about her hunt to get her bike back and was now completely focused on finding her girlfriend instead. The blunette's heart rate had picked up from the excitement. _She made it for my birthday! Why didn't she just call my... cell. _Natsuki's eyes widened at her realization.

The store owner smirked. "She also wanted me to tell you your next clue. She said she'd be waiting in 'a special place'."

"Special place?" She echoed. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was Shizuru teasing her with that message of hers? And she had been the one to set this whole scavenger hunt up! Well, that was what she now believed to be the truth. But where was she supposed to go to find her? Natsuki thanked the store owner and headed outside, thinking of where she should go.

Perhaps she was supposed to go to the movie theatre where they went on their first date. No. That seemed stupid. Maybe the Fuuka dorms where they had shared their first kiss in Shizuru's room while sitting on her bed. Well, she didn't live in that room anymore, so unless they were both supposed to break into it...

She passed by a flower shop and paused, looking back at a box of pink petaled flowers.

Pink flowers...

_"You shouldn't do that."_

A warm smile crept onto Natsuki's face at the memory. Of course she would be there. That place where they first spoke. The flower garden where their first bond had been forged. Their 'special place'.

With renewed energy, she took off towards the bus stop, praying that a bus would already be there when she arrived. Unfortunately for her, she had to wait 10 minutes before one rolled up to the stop. Unlike that morning though, the warmth of knowing Shizuru would wait for her all day created a patience within the girl that kept her from becoming angry.

Despite her newfound patience, she practically flew out of the bus when it arrived back at Fuuka. Natsuki sprinted toward the flower garden, her legs barely being able to keep up with her speed when she ran down the grassy hill. She ran away from the paved pathway and towards the forest where she could cut through to save time. Her grip tighetened on the bag of lingerie so that any stray branches didn't knock it away from her-- there was no way she wanted to lose her new presents.

_I wonder what Shizuru has planned?_

Natsuki slowed down until she was only walking before she emerged from the bushes and into the garden. She couldn't look too eager or she'd be an easy target for teasing. "Shizuru?" she called out, looking around for her most important person. The brunette was no where to be seen. What did catch Natsuki's eye however, was a very large-- _size of a cow!_-- cake sitting in front of the stone gazebo. _What in the world is that thing?_ Natsuki approached the humungous dessert cautiously, extremely suspicious of its existance.

She stepped closer and closer, looking it up and down before stopping and reaching out with her hand. It was squishy, just like real frosting, but really what kind of huge cake was this?

Natsuki continued to poke at it, trying to see if something would happen with the cake itself, before it dawned on her.

_This cake can fit a person inside... Holy cra-_

"SURPRISE!" came the voice from inside the cake as, none other than, Shizuru jumped out from the top.

Natsuki stared wide-eyed at the sight of her girlfriend appearing before her. It really was a surprise, and such a wonderful one at that. Her dropped jaw slowly closed and let a bright smile form over her lips.

"You... you came..." she mumbled.

"Of course! I couldn't be without my Natsuki on her birthday!" Shizuru explained with a soft smile as she jumped completely from inside the cake and towards the startled blunette.

Luckily Natsuki had the strength to catch her in her arms, holding her bridal style for the time being and tightening her grip. As Shizuru rested her head on the younger girl's collarbone, Natsuki continued to pull her in, pivoting gently to sway in the late summer breeze.

"...I thought you said you couldn't come..." Natsuki ventured to say only to get a giggle and cuddle in response.

"Sorry Natsuki, I lied."

--

A/N: Hooray! Short, sweet, and a to the point ending! I hope you enjoyed.

**Omake**

Natsuki: ... this cake can fit a person inside...

-cake bursts open-

Kiyohime: ROAR

Natsuki: -BLEEP- -runs- This is the worst birthday _ever_!


	2. Epilogue: The Lost Ducati

A/N: Yeah... 2 minutes after Notori and I posted the first chapter, we realized that we hadn't explained about the bike. Or about anything... XD

Notori: We were listening to epic Narnia music while trying to finish it before midnight XD

**Epilogue**

Natsuki was lying on her back in her bed; Shizuru snuggled up to her side. She had her arms wrapped in a loose embrace with the older girl's and her chin resting atop of her head. The blunette was grateful that her roommate had gone home for the summer holidays for it gave her and Shizuru as much privacy as they wanted.

_She is so beautiful, _thought Natsuki as she pulled back a bit to look at her girlfriend. Red eyes glanced up to meet her own emerald orbs, causing a warm smile creep onto the biker's face.

_Wait. _Natsuki's smile faltered and was replaced with a frown. In the excitement of Shizuru being in town after a month, popping out of the cake, followed by an amazing night involving all of Natsuki's newfound lingerie, she had forgotten about something.

Where the hell was her Ducati?

"Shizuru..." she trailed off, giving the older girl a stern look.

Shizuru smiled innocently up at Natsuki. "Hmmm?" she hummed quietly in return.

"What happened to my bike?"

The older girl removed one of her arms from Natsuki's waist to lift a hand to her chin, tapping it thoughtfully with her finger. "I wonder," she replied evasively.

Natsuki glared. "Shizuru," she warned.

Shizuru giggled and returned her hand to the blunette's waist, pulling herself closer to the other's body. "Nao-han has it."

_Oh, well if Nao has it—WHAT!? _

"WHAT!?" she echoed her thoughts. "Why does that stupid red-headed _idiot_ have it?! Who knows what shape it's in now!"

Shizuru smiled. "Ara, when I asked for help setting up my present, she was more than willing to help out with that part, and with keeping you... on task." Natsuki leapt from the bed. "Where is my Natsuki off to now?"

"I'm not done my scavenger hunt apparently. I need to get the prize."

"So you're off to get your bike then?"

"That and to shred a certain junior to pieces. I'm sure the school won't miss her much."

Shizuru laughed. "Play nice Natsuki... Natsuki? Natsuki, put the gun away... Natsuki!"

--

Meanwhile across town, Mai and Nao were sitting at a restaurant, looking out the window to watch the blue motorbike shining in the parking lot.

"You have to admit, it really is a nice bike," Mai commented.

"Yeah, but it handles like crap! I nearly killed myself!"

Suddenly, a large cloud of dust, followed by rumbling ground and a loud roar from a certain, very angry, birthday girl.

"... We should go."

"Indeed."

And so those two escaped an early death from Natsuki, who was easily distracted by being reunited with her beloved Ducati.

--

A/N: Hope you enjoyed!

**Omake  
**

Suddenly, a large cloud of dust appeared, followed by rumbling ground and a loud roar. Natsuki was being chased down the street by a herd of stampeding elephant and had tears streaming down her face.

"WORST BIRTHDAY EVER!!"

"..."


End file.
